It's Not Complicated: The Art and Science of Complexity in Business
© 2017
In the new knowledge economy, traditional modes of thinking are no longer effective. Compartmentalizing problems and solutions and assuming everything can be solved with the right formula can no longer keep pace with the radical changes occurring daily in the modern business world.
It’s Not Complicated offers a paradigm shift for business professionals looking for simplified solutions to complex problems. In his straightforward and highly engaging style, Rick Nason introduces the principles of “complexity thinking” which empower managers to understand, correlate, and explain a diverse range of business phenomena. For example, why some new products go viral while others remain unnoticed, how office cliques develop despite collaborative work policies and spaces, how economic bubbles form, and how an unknown retiree foiled one of the most carefully planned product launches ever with a single letter to the editor of his local newspaper. Rather than consider complicated and complex as interchangeable terms, Rick Nason explains what complexity is, how it arises, and the errors in solving complex situations with complicated thinking. It’s Not Complicated provides managers with fresh, counterintuitive, and actionable models for dealing with challenging business problems.
Product Details
- Imprint: Rotman-UTP Publishing
- World Rights
- Page Count: 248 pages
- Dimensions: 6.0in x 0.8in x 9.0in
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Reviews
"In his typically engaging, straightforward, nontechnical style, with clear and understandable examples and frameworks, Rick Nason here draws upon his vast academic and consulting experience to deliver indispensably compelling insights into the differences between simple, complicated, and complex processes and systems, enabling professionals to identify, understand, deal with, and exploit complexity in the business and investment realm. This is a book that should be used frequently by anyone seeking to successfully navigate the technological, social, economic, and political peripeteia of modern life."
David M. Darst, CFA, Former Chief Investment Strategist of Morgan Stanley Global Wealth Management -
Author Information
Rick Nason is an associate professor of finance in the Rowe School of Business at Dalhousie University. -
Table of contents
Preface
Chapter 1: Introduction to Systems and Complexity
Chapter 2: The False Axioms of Business
Chapter 3: It’s Not Complicated
Chapter 4: The Wonders of Complexity
Chapter 5: Managing Complexity
Chapter 6: The Complexity of Strategic Planning
Chapter 7: The Complex Economy
Chapter 8: Risk Management and Complexity
Chapter 9: The Complex Future
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Subjects and Courses